Where We Belong: Journeys That Show Us the Way

In this incredible collection of stories, Hoda Kotb reveals individuals who reached critical points in their lives and suddenly found they were being pulled in completely new directions. By following their passions, their guts, and their hearts, these people learned their life purposes were utterly unlike what they'd planned.

No subject is off-limits: talking to her kids about sex, being married to Frank Gifford, embarrassing professional gaffes, run-ins with celebrities (of which there are many), the harsh and funny realities of aging.

Been There, Done That: Family Wisdom for Modern Times

Al Roker and Deborah Roberts have 16 Emmy Awards between them. They have covered everything from the Olympics and the Gulf War to natural disasters and the AIDS crisis in Africa. Now these two married journalists and parents have collaborated on the most personal and important "story" of their lives.

This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare

Gabourey Sidibe - "Gabby" to her legion of fans - skyrocketed to international fame in 2009 when she played the leading role in Lee Daniels' acclaimed movie Precious. In This Is Just My Face, she shares a one-of-a-kind life story in a voice as fresh and challenging as many of the unique characters she's played onscreen. With full-throttle honesty, Sidibe paints her Bed-Stuy/Harlem family life with a polygamous father and a gifted mother who supports her two children by singing in the subway.

This Life I Live: One Man's Extraordinary, Ordinary Life and the Woman Who Changed It Forever

The love story that captured a nation's heart. Joey and Rory Feek were enjoying a steadily growing fan base in country music when Joey was diagnosed unexpectedly with a rapidly spreading cancer. This vibrant and beautiful young woman would soon be on a unique journey for which no one is ever fully prepared. Her husband, Rory, and children, Heidi, Hopie, and Indiana, were beside her each step of the way.

Wildflower

Wildflower is a portrait of Drew's life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges, and incredible experiences of her earlier years. It includes tales of living on her own at 14 (and how laundry may have saved her life), getting stuck in a gas station overhang on a cross-country road trip, saying good-bye to her father in a way only he could have understood, and many more adventures and lessons that have led her to the successful, happy, and healthy place she is today.

Camino Island: A Novel

Priceless F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts stolen in a daring heist; a young woman recruited to recover them, and a beach-resort bookseller who gets more than he bargained for - all in one long summer on Camino Island.

Seriously...I'm Kidding

"I've experienced a whole lot the last few years and I have a lot to share. So I hope that you'll take a moment to sit back, relax and enjoy the words I've put together for you in this book. I think you'll find I've left no stone unturned, no door unopened, no window unbroken, no rug unvacuumed, no ivories untickled. What I'm saying is, let us begin, shall we?" (Ellen DeGeneres)

Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep

A portrait of a woman, an era, and a profession: the first thoroughly researched biography of Meryl Streep - the "Iron Lady" of acting, nominated for 19 Oscars and winner of three - that explores her beginnings as a young woman of the 1970s grappling with love, feminism, and her astonishing talent.

The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss

Though Anderson Cooper has always considered himself close to his mother, his intensely busy career as a journalist for CNN and CBS affords him little time to spend with her. After she suffers a brief but serious illness at the age of ninety-one, they resolve to change their relationship by beginning a yearlong conversation unlike any they have ever had before. The result is a correspondence of surprising honesty and depth in which they discuss their lives, the things that matter to them, and what they still want to learn about each other.

The Secrets of My Life: A History

The book will cover Caitlyn Jenner's childhood as Bruce Jenner and rise to fame as a gold-medal-winning Olympic decathlete; her marriages and her relationships with her children; her transition; and her experience as the world's most famous transgender woman.

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology

The outspoken actress, talk show host, and reality television star offers up a no-holds-barred memoir, including an eye-opening insider account of her tumultuous and heart-wrenching 30-year-plus association with the Church of Scientology.

What I Know for Sure

After film critic Gene Siskel asked her, "What do you know for sure?" Oprah Winfrey began writing the "What I Know for Sure" column in O, The Oprah Magazine. Saying that the question offered her a way to take "stock of her life", Oprah has penned one column a month over the last 14 years.

Waiter to the Rich and Shameless: Confessions of a Five Star Beverly Hills Server

Waiter to the Rich and Shameless is not just a peek into the secretive inner workings of a legendary five-star restaurant; it is not just a celebrity tell-all or a scathing corporate analysis. It is a top-tier waiter's personal coming-of-age story, an intimate look into the complicated challenges of serving in the country's most elite, Hollywood-centric dining room while fighting to maintain a sense of self and purpose.

Diana: Her True Story - in Her Own Words

The sensational biography of Princess Diana, now revised to commemorate the 20th anniversary of her death. When Diana: Her True Story - in Her Own Words was first published in 1992, it forever changed the way the public viewed the British monarchy.

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things

What possesses someone to save every scrap of paper thats ever come into his home? What compulsions drive a woman like Irene, whose hoarding cost her her marriage? Or Ralph, whose imagined uses for castoff items like leaky old buckets almost lost him his house?

If You Ask Me

It-girl Betty White delivers a hilarious, slyly profound take on love, life, celebrity, and everything in between. Drawing from a lifetime of lessons learned, seven-time Emmy winner Betty White's wit and wisdom take center stage as she tackles topics like friendship, romantic love, aging, television, fans, love for animals, and the brave new world of celebrity. If You Ask Me mixes her thoughtful observations with humorous stories from a seven- decade career in Hollywood. Longtime fans and new fans alike will relish Betty's candid take on everything....

As the first black female on the Forbes billionaire list, it was obvious that Oprah Winfrey was not only a great talk show host but a smart business woman. From humble beginnings, Oprah has had a lifetime of experiences and touched the lives of millions of people. Her long running show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, covered a wide range of topics with sensitivity and dignity. It is from these experiences that Oprah has developed philosophies which can help anyone through all aspects of their lives.

Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction

From the moment she uttered the brave and honest words, "I am an alcoholic," to interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Elizabeth Vargas began writing her story, as her experiences were still raw. Now, in Between Breaths, Vargas discusses her accounts of growing up with anxiety - which began suddenly at the age of six when her father served in Vietnam - and how she dealt with this anxiety as she came of age, to her eventually turning to alcohol for relief.

River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope

The world knows Naomi Judd as one of the most successful and best-loved country music stars ever. What the world hasn't known - until now - is that after her 2010 and 2011 North American tour with Wynonna, Naomi fell into a debilitating and terrifying depression that seemingly came out of nowhere. Just months after the successful tour ended, Naomi truly believed she had every reason to end her life.

Wake Up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide to Transforming Your Life

Audie Award, Business/Educational, 2016. America's favorite football player turned morning talk show host, Michael Strahan, reads his book of motivational advice on how to turn up the heat and go from good to great in pursuit of your personal ambition. Inspiring and chock full of advice that will help you make significant strides toward pursuing your dream, Wake Up Happy is a book no one, young or old, male or female, will want to miss.

Women, Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything

No matter how sophisticated or wealthy or broke or enlightened you are, how you eat tells all. Geneen Roth's masterwork, Women, Food and God explores the relationship between how we eat and how we see ourselves in the world.

Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

As the only African-American soloist dancing with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland has made history. But when she first placed her hands on the barre at an after-school community center, no one expected the undersized, anxious 13-year-old to become a ground­breaking ballerina. Life in Motion is a story of passion and grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life.

Publisher's Summary

New York Times bestselling author and beloved Today show co-anchor tells the incredible stories of people who, when faced with impossibly challenging or tragic life situations, persevere - and even thrive - and asks, What if you, facing a game-changing event or decision right now, could see ten years into the future?

Through years of perseverance, purpose, and passion, Hoda Kotb landed a spot with Kathie Lee on the Today show, won numerous journalism awards, and gained valuable life lessons. Now, after captivating audiences in her blockbuster memoir Hoda, she turns to stories about others who have undergone personal transformation against great odds.

In Ten Years Later, Hoda chronicles six amazing stories by identifying a game-changing event in her subjects’ lives and then revisiting those lives a decade later. We meet Amy Barnes, who took the leap to escape an abusive relationship, lost an astounding 340 pounds, and now encourages women like her to cultivate their mental and physical strength. There’s also Ron Clifford, a civilian hero of 9/11, who saved the life of a burn victim in the wreckage of the towers - only to learn the same day that his beloved sister and niece were passengers on Flight 175. Patrick Weiland, a former network producer who won a Peabody at age twenty-two and later spiraled into drug addition, demonstrates the power of a second chance.

Ten Years Later is a firsthand testament to the enduring power of the human spirit. Through inspirational life stories, Hoda shows how adversity can unleash our best qualities: resilience, perseverance, gratitude, empathy, and creativity. This book will inspire you to believe in the future, no matter how dark the present, and tap into the ability to reach your highest potential.

The six people profiled here have diverse backgrounds and accomplishments, but all were hit hard in life and not only bounced back but surged ahead. I was particularly impressed by the woman who, after battling cancer in her early twenties, started up a foundation to help other cancer victims battle infertility, and the single mother with no money or connections who started a corporation eventually worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

I like Hoda's writing and delivery but what a bunch of sad and depressing stories! Maybe if it was read it would not have quite the same effect. Thank goodness that the last profile was one of rags to riches, rather than another gut wrenching tale. I gt that the moral of the story is resilience but only 20% of each story is "since" the tragedy. I am just glad it's over! Whew.

This book is Hota telling of her interviews with 6 people. I found the stories interesting. However, I did not really get how the stories really belong together. Even the subtitle "Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives" isn't entirely accurate. I really think she just thought these were six good stories so wanted to make a book but any real connection for all six is a stretch. The final story is about a woman who went from choosing to live a subsistence lifestyle to owning a multimillion dollar company. Is the adversity being poor when choosing to live that lifestyle? At any rate, each story on it's own was interesting but a few things did bug me. Our first story deals with a woman who after being in an abusive relationship and losing her kids, leaves the guy, loses hundreds of pounds and regains custody. She later becomes a life coach. This is inspiring except that one question kept popping into my mind while listening and Hota never asked it. The woman after gaining her kids back, moves in with another guy shortly after that, then another guy after that. It seemed to me like she always had to have a man and never got comfortable just being herself. It seemed so crazy after what she put her kids through to move them in with another guy right away. But Hota never asks her about that. After that story was a woman who survived cancer and went on to help cancer patients by getting the medical community to deal with issues of fertility loss differently. Those two made me think our book was about people who suffered something them went on to do something for others. But the next two stories were a little off from that. I was fascinated by the woman who recovered from epilepsy and became an ultra marathoner. (I had never heard of ultramarathons.) I am just not sure how that fits the theme. Similarly there is man who stops doing drugs after his sister is murdered and helps to influence the prosecution of her killer. There is also the man who helped a burn victim on 9/11 only to learn later his sister and niece had died that day. That is certainly a powerful story but I kept waiting to see what he was going to do and that was apparently just be a regular happy guy. So although the stories were interesting, I don't think Hota or her book added anything to them.

What made the experience of listening to Ten Years Later the most enjoyable?

This book is absolutely wonderful and uplifting! It definitely gave me hope in my own future and a better appreciation of life. I adore Hoda Kotb, so it was enjoyable to be able to listen to her tell the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

HOW CAN I PICK? Each individual's stories were absolutely amazing!

Which scene was your favorite?

I enjoyed the "rags to riches" story at the end as well as the chapters about medical problems (no spoilers).

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely! I probably listened to it in three chunks, but it is definitely a great "binge" read.

I watch her every morning on her show and didn't know she was such a great writer. Loved hearing the inspiring stories. I was on vacation in Sarasota and could not wait to walk the beach every day for hours while I was listening to her book. Great!!

Probably not.... but I was inspired and did enjoy reading about these Valiant people ....

What did you like best about this story?

The spunk and determination of these individuals, several in very difficult trials.

Have you listened to any of Hoda Kotb’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the story of Lindsey...her firm determination, the implementation of her conviction to enlist other significant players in reach her goals...<br/><br/>Ron and the "911" story and the vivid description of his attept to help the dear woman who was on fire.

Any additional comments?

I appreciate being able to listen while I work and rest my eyes.<br/><br/>Just one thing.... I would prefer to hear a bleep for the inappropriate language, though sparingly used....throughout the reports.